Double volume hardcover scheduled for October 2013

With a release slated for October 2013, it's going to be a while before Kodansha publishes the English edition of Japan Media Arts award winning manga Vinland Saga, and to make that wait even more difficult, they've outlined some impressive plans for the historical action series.

Thorfinn is son to one of the Vikings’ greatest warriors, but when his father is killed in battle by the mercenary leader Askeladd, he swears to have his revenge. Thorfinn joins Askeladd’s band in order to challenge him to a duel, and ends up caught in the middle of a war for the crown of England.

As some of you may know, this October we’re releasing Book One of Vinland Saga, the historical action manga by Makoto Yukimura, the artist of Planetes. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s set in medieval England during the Viking invasions, and it follows a band of Viking warriors through an epic story of vengeance, blood, tragedy, royal intrigue and more blood. A lot of people have been looking forward to this series for a long time (including us), and we intend to do it right.

This release is going to mark many firsts for us, and as promised it’s going to be packed to the brim with extras. Let me get straight to the details!

Two volumes in one. 460+ pages including extras.

The first Kodansha Comics hardcover release.

Larger trim size of about 8 inches by 5.5 inches (for you to better appreciate this stunning artwork).

Exclusive Q&A with Yukimura created specifically for the U.S. edition.

Viking cosplay photos from the artist! (Yes, you read that right!)

And most exciting, we’ll be serializing the unreleased Yukimura story “For Our Farewell Is Near” (“Sayonara ga chikai no de”) in our editions of Vinland Saga!

There will also be several little Easter eggs (excuse me — I mean Ēostre eggs) in the book design for observant readers. Until then! Skoal!

------Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.